


[vid] Ave Que Emigra

by fiercynn



Series: fiercynn's solo vids [6]
Category: Fresh Off The Boat (TV), Growing Up Immigrant, Jane the Virgin (TV), Master of None (TV), One Day at a Time (TV 2017), Superstore (TV), The Bold Type
Genre: Download Available, F/F, F/M, Fanvids, Immigration & Emigration, M/M, Video, Video Format: Streaming, Vividcon, multifandom - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2018-08-14
Packaged: 2019-06-27 11:20:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 26
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15684387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fiercynn/pseuds/fiercynn
Summary: Vengo desde muy lejos. [A vid about immigrant families.]





	[vid] Ave Que Emigra

**Author's Note:**

> Premiered at Vividcon 2018. Song is "Ave Que Emigra" by Gaby Moreno; vid runtime is 3:32. Both versions of the vid below have subtitles - one with the Spanish lyrics captioned, the other with the lyrics translated into English.
> 
> Everlasting thanks to youmovemesir for reviewing and correcting my translation of the lyrics; to scribe, rhoboat, and ofjustimagine for amazing beta-ing; and to feedingonwind and whalefern for providing additional comments on the final draft!
> 
> Coming from an immigrant family myself, I have a lot of feeling about this vid, some of them navel gaze-y; if you're interested, there are further notes at the end of the vid.

**With English subtitles**

[Watch on Vimeo](https://vimeo.com/284530998)

password: _immigrar_

Download: [@mediafire, 129 mb, mp4](http://www.mediafire.com/file/d6gdvstm1ia9i6z/Ave+Que+Emigra+%28English%29.mp4)

 

**With Spanish subtitles**

[Watch on Vimeo](https://vimeo.com/284531794)

password: _immigrar_

Download: [@mediafire, 129 mb, mp4](http://www.mediafire.com/file/3z81b881tq1vauf/Ave+Que+Emigra+%28espanol%29.mp4)

**Author's Note:**

> This was a difficult vid for me, in so many ways – my first multi vid made by myself; my first time vidding to a song not in English (which required subtitles); using sitcom sources with a lot of talking heads; using scenes from those that often had their own subtitles embedded in the source footage; etc, etc. But most of all, this vid was both intensely personal and in another way, not – because my experience is unique, as are the experiences of each of these characters, so this vid had to go far outside myself as well.
> 
> For context, I’m first-gen Indian-American – I was born in the US after both of my parents had already been here for years and in fact had US citizenship already. That, along with many other things (including my parents’ educational, financial, and caste status, just to _start_ ) affords me an immense amount of privilege as a child of immigrants. But despite that privilege, being a child of immigrants, being first-gen and brown in the United States, can still invoke vulnerability, pain, fear, and anger for me – and joy, pride, connection, and fulfillment as well.
> 
> Since about 2015, my tv diet has been primarily sitcoms. Even before the outcome of the 2016 US presidential election was known, the campaign and the end of the Obama administration (and so much more) took a toll on so many of us for years before. For me that led, among other things, to not being able to handle watching tv dramas. I was able to find some comfort in the predictability of the sitcom formula, while still appreciating the complexity that a lot of my favorite sitcoms brought, especially regarding immigrant experiences. This vid was born out of that tension – while not all the sources are sitcoms, they are all shows I value for their comedy sensibilities, and for the fact that they feel both safe and brave to me in different ways, at different times.
> 
> Multifandom vids are sometimes easiest to read when they focus on similarities between the sources, and I obviously was trying to draw parallels from all of these stories. But I hope that some of the differences are evident and can be celebrated as well. These are characters who originated from different countries, of different genders, ages, documentation statuses, sexualities, and so much more. Some were reluctant to leave their homelands, while others looked forward to the opportunities ahead. Almost all faced racism and xenophobia in the US, but in different ways, to different degrees. Some faced equal or worse hardships in the places they came from, and some didn’t. Some wish they could go back, while others don’t have a place to go back to at all.
> 
> The part of this vid that I feel most conflicted about is the scenes that show the citizenship process. Someone at VVC Vid Review said that the legal process around citizenship felt glossed over or glorified, which is so valid, and is something I thought a lot about while making this vid. The immigration process may have provided security for me through citizenship, but it has also incarcerated, rejected, and killed too many others for me to want to celebrate it in and of itself. But the thing is, for some of these characters, that process is part of their personal journey. For Alba from _Jane the Virgin_ , it is a celebration of what she loves about her family and about America; for Lydia from _One Day At A Time_ , it is a process she embarks upon with reluctance, and is mostly a way to protect herself. For Mateo from _Superstore_ and Kojo from _Growing Up Immigrant_ , citizenship may not be an option at all, and for Adena from _The Bold Type_ , the immigration process is fraught with ups and downs right now. 
> 
> Ultimately, I wanted this to be a hopeful vid, pointing out not only the hardships of being displaced to a country that can discriminate, threaten, and harm us, but also some of the happiness that is found from the connections we make here. Some days I don’t feel that hope at all, but if this vid can be a reminder for anyone else of the days when you can feel that, then I’ll be very pleased with the outcome.


End file.
